A couple days before this country celebrated the one off holiday dedicated to our indigenous people on October 13, 2017, the statue that was erected in ‘honour” of Christopher Columbus was defaced. Red paint which is indicative of the blood of our first people (the Tainos and the Kalianagos) was smeared all over our local monument which is located in Columbus Square Port of Spain. This seems to follow a trend, with statues of the “New World” explorer being vandalized across States in the USA such as; Detroit (2015), Boston (2015), Central Park, and Houston (2017). With the advent of convergence in technology, information is literally at our fingertips. Journal entries written by Christopher Columbus and his band of terrorist oops! I meant shipmates and religious leaders are easily available on the internet and on YouTube. Some citizens of the world are choosing to put aside the bull shit that was taught to us by propagandist and ill-informed school teachers and are instead recognizing Christopher Columbus for who he really was. A failed explorer who accidentally “rediscovered” the Caribbean and caused mass genocide in the process all in the name of Spain and religion and profit. If you are still of the belief that this man was a hero, I suggest that you come up from under that rock and sip some of this coffee.
Christopher Columbus residence Italy - Photo credit - Analicia Boyce
Christopher Columbus – Pre explorer
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa which is now known as Italy. Somewhere in his late 20’s he moved to Lisborn, Portugal and later to Spain where he settled until his death. Columbus first went to sea as a teenager, participating in several trading voyages in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. One expedition brought him to the island of Khios in modern day Greece, which was the closest Columbus would ever come to Asia. Rumors of Gold and Spices in the Asian Islands near China and India awakened the interest of the Europeans. Unfortunately for the Europeans, the Muslims dominated those trade routes through the Middle East which would of course restricted their movements. Columbus, devise a route to sail west across the Atlantic to reach Asia, he thought that this would be a quicker and safer route. Columbus and his proposal of a three ship voyage was rejected in Portugal, Genoa and then in Venice. After being rejected by the Spanish Monarchy (Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand) in 1486, they embraced his idea in 1492 after the Spanish captured their last Muslim stronghold in Granada. In August 1492 Columbus left Spain with three ships; the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina (Biography.com, 2017)
Now, here is where that fine line between lies, truth and plain out fantasy have been straddled for years. There are so many myths to be debunked concerning this extremist and his supposed “successful” voyages.
Myth: People believed the world was flat at the time of his voyage
In Primary school, when the topic of Christopher of Columbus was taught, I distinctly remember our teacher saying that people believed the world was not round, but flat, and that Christopher Columbus, the great explorer set out to prove everyone wrong (see how that was fantasized).
Truth:
At the time of his voyage, current day educated Europeans already believed the earth was round. The Ancient Greeks made this discovery around the 5th Century BC. Columbus never set out to prove that the world was round, but that sailing around it was possible.
Myth: Columbus set out on his voyage to join the ranks of great a explorer
Columbus voyages were often fantasized, claims were made that he was this great explorer and he set on this journey to perhaps make a name for his self and to be remembered in history as a great explorer
Truth: Columbus main reason for setting sail was strictly for profit
Columbus, was not interested in sailing the Atlantic to make strides in geographical history, his voyages were strictly commercial. He was only interested in making money. His greed inspired his mission nothing else.
Myth: Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World”.
Truth: Christopher Columbus, rediscovered the “New World”
This is one myth I could never wrap my head around. How could he have discovered “The New” world when there were estimated 754,000 aborigines residing in the Caribbean when they arrived here. These natives had systems implemented which they lived by. Each island contained many thriving communities before the Spaniards invaded.
A member of the indigenous community performs her ritual at the opening ceremony for the first peoples celebration 13.10.17
This man was by no means a hero and he should not be glorified or remembered as such for the following reasons:
Genocide of the “First People”
The natives across the various islands were slaughtered, brutally. In his quest for riches to return to the Spanish, Columbus enslaved the Tainos and the Kalinagos in order to acquire gold and other precious gems. When they could not find enough gold for the Spanish, they would exercise cruel methods of punishment. The Spanish would cut off the hands of the natives, and tie them around their necks if they did not produce their daily quota of gold. This is one of the many revolting methods of punishment that were practiced by Christopher Columbus shipmates. The natives who resisted were tortured and killed. The women were not spared as they were viciously raped by the Spanish. This led many of our first people to acts of infanticide and suicide rather than to live under those conditions.
He Lied
In order to keep his financiers, the Spanish Monarchy happy Columbus lied and gravely exaggerated his expeditions. The little gold that he did find he returned to the crown and promised that there was more gold available on the islands. He also took some of the Tainos and the Kalinagos as gifts to the Spanish. He claimed that the natives were welcoming and docile which made them easy pickings. These utterings were far from the truth. There was little to zero gold and precious stones on the islands Columbus also neglected to mention the state of the colonies and that the natives were revolting a resistance the Spanish faced daily.
He was a failure!
Christopher Columbus was a failure of epic proportions. No doubt. Determined to arrive at the East Indies, based on his theory and calculations he stumbled upon the Caribbean (Bahamas) thinking that he had arrived in the Far East after sailing for 36 days. He saw the indigenous people and automatically thought them to be Indians. Columbus made his way around the Caribbean and journeyed to America in separate voyages, despite his efforts he never arrived in the East. He also failed to properly manage the colonies that he started on the various islands in the name of Spain, which he was later chastised for.
Statue of Christopher Columbus which today stands vandalized at Columbus Square, Port of Spain
Returning to the issue of the statue it is my firm belief that it should be removed from public display and the Square should be renamed. That image of Christopher Columbus is the epitome of the colonialism that existed (and still exists) in Trinidad and Tobago. Yes he rediscovered Trinidad, which was actually named Kairi or Iere, which means “Land of the Hummingbird” prior to his arrival. One can also argue that, as grotesque and vile as he was, Columbus contributed to a major part of the History of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region. But by the same token, my thoughts are keeping that statue erect, is almost the same as agreeing with what he did to our indigenous and all the heinous trimmings that came along with it.
As stated in my previous blog, the first people only account for 0.11% of the population that is an actual body count of 1,394 persons, among a populace of roughly 1.4 million people in Trinidad. As I looked at the other islands, the numbers of indigenous were not very impressive either. Besides the physical purging of a race, the Spaniards also expunged their way of life. Using religion as one of their driving forces for slavery, the indigenous people were stripped of their religion and practices, even their names and were forced to embrace Catholicism something that was also done to the Africans. Although they are now free to practice their ancient rituals today, because their history was not officially documented many crucial pieces of their culture is gone, forever. The two pillars that are a representation of the mass genocide of their people is still embraced – the catholic religion (which most of our indigenous hold fast to) and that statue of the person who was responsible for it all.
I pass that statue on my way to work every day, and every time I look at it I imagine that son of a bitch coming off the Santa Maria, head high, claiming Kairi for Spain and expecting the natives to kiss his feet because they were “inferior” to him. Makes me want to borrow a bulldozer and run it over.
In all fairness information passed down through the generations was tainted and incorrect, because we are aware that “History” was written by the victors. Now that the truth is easily available, the powers that be have to make a decision and the correct decision would be the removal of that memorial that is so lovingly maintained by our taxpaying dollars. The man was a failure, a liar and a murderer why keep his statue erected as a reminder of this for our future generations to view. He has not earned that right and he is definitely not deserving of it.
Blessings
Callaloo Culture
Works Cited
Biography.com. (2017, August 01). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209: https://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209
T. (2015, October 06). Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FBUEfdPDOQ&feature=youtu.be
W. (2016, February 24). Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iErtF9IfI6M
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://www.tv6tnt.com/news/7pmnews/columbus-statue-defaced/article_b6b73ab8-ad53-11e7-96d1-4fd1b9cf28ca.html
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Yet our schools are still teaching this lie to our youth. Great job #staywoke
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